Ralph Homer Merlin, the next great wizard
by BookNut02
Summary: Ralph was never a regular boy, not in the muggle world where he is the reclusive son of a multi-billionaire, not in the wizarding world where he is the most talented student since Albus Dumbledore and the first descendant of Merlin to possess magic in 900 years. But in his sixth year the Triwizard Tournament comes to Hogwarts, and his life becomes even more irregular.
1. The 21st century wizarding world

**A/N: This chapter is not part of this story's narrative but seeks to add context to the setting in which I am writing, in 2020, 3 years after '19 Years Later' and following the next generation with a focal character of my invention. His name is Ralph Homer Merlin and he is quite famous. Enjoy.**

 _A look at the advancements of wizarding Britain and the world at the turn of the century._

Fashion:

Mankind has always found a way to advance, but no advancement in our society has ever been greater than the changes which shaped the 21st century wizarding world, following the fall of He Who Must Not Be realising it the second war built a profound cultural bridge between our world and the muggle world, their overwhelmingly larger society began to seep into our fashion, our technology, our architecture and our sport. These changes were not bad however. The wizarding world had always developed slower and less significantly than the muggle's, this is because we never needed to advance as, with the help of magic, the everyday inconveniences that the muggles suffered were, to us, a non issue. However the cultural explosion following 1998 was nothing short of breathtaking and some of the older generation are still trying to catch up. The huge shift had a number of causes, most prominently the change in our social landscape. People from non magic backgrounds, as well as non-magic members of our international community, quickly became more accepted and more common.

This was most apparent in how wider acceptance of muggle-born's lead to a huge shift in, of all things, fashion. In all fairness, the rapid change in fashion was also brought about by a generation who had been raised in a world where they had to don muggle attire for tasks as pedestrian as going to school. Suddenly robes were an over garment, worn over slacks and shirts, and the youth seemed to forgo the robe completely in lieu of jeans and cotton t-shirts. This shift was so big Hogwarts school even changed its uniform after around 1000 years, the new gear including trousers, shirts, ties and pullovers to be worn under the cloak. The change in fashion would also help for easy enforcement of the International Statute of Secrecy.

Quidditch:

Quidditch has always been a sport routed in its traditions. While it has had many modifications as it was shaped into the sport we know once the right formulae was found it did not sway. However the game became somewhat unfit over time, due to fast brooms games became shorter and shorter due to excellent chasing and keeping score lines became finer and snitch captures began to decide 99% of all games. It became clear to the Department of Magical Games and Sports that quidditch had to be modified in order for future generations continued support of the game. The International Quidditch Committee (est.1999) set about making changes. The first order of business was increasing the snitch's top speed and the decreasing of its value to 50 points. The second thing they did was make the goal posts further apart and increased the size of the hoops, and reduced the size of both the quaffle and bludger, the quaffle was now 26 inches in circumference and the bludger was 22 inches. The pitch also saw its size reduced from 500 x 180 (feet) to 350 x 140 (feet) which allowed bludgers to be used to greater effect and allowed snitch chases to be far more exciting. Two seasons were played under these rules unti, in 2003 another change took place, the snitch was not released until 30 minutes into the game, up until that point the seeker was expected to act as a playmaker for the chasers, not being allowed to make attempts on goal or enter the shooting area but still allowed to handle the quaffle and pass to teammates. However after one season of both seekers being barraged with bludgers and violently fouled before the snitch even entered the fold it was agreed that the seekers should enter the game with the snitch after 30 minutes. These are the rules played by today, although in some amature circles the traditional rules are played by, leading to the two types of quidditch being named as 'Bragge Quidditch' (traditional) and 'Association Quidditch' or sometimes 'Boyland Quidditch' after Theodore Boyland who reduced the snitches value to 50. The league also began using a point based system rather than score based, it was as follows:

Win: 2 pts

Loss: 0 pts

Win (250): 4 pts

Win (without capture of the snitch): 3 pts

Loss (50): 1 pts

Loss (250): -1 pts

Draw: 1 pts


	2. Chapter 1

Ralph and the rest of the team made their way back to the changing rooms where the celebrations commenced; Lysander pulled out a huge bottle of firewhiskey while Liam and Oliver jumped onto the benches in the middle and began singing loudly about their glory and the unspeakable acts they had performed on the Durmstrang players mothers, sisters and girlfriends. Ralph was pulling off his robes when Oliver put an invisible microphone to his mouth in indication to continue the song, and so he did,

'THANK YOUR SISTER FOR THE KISSES COS WHEN YOU WERE CALLING YOUR 6TH TIME OUT, WE WENT AND FUCKED YOUR MISSUS!'

The changing room howled with laughter at this verse and he tipped back his head and skied a stream of whiskey down his throat, the warmth spreading throughout his body. He put the bottle down and began disrobing, he threw his bat into the bottom of his kit bag and began to untie his shoulder pads. Lysander came over, picked up the bottle and sat down beside Ralph who was now taking off his wrist braces.

'You heading to the Burrow after we get back?' he asked, taking a swig of whiskey before putting down the bottle and beginning to pull of his boots.

'Yup, meet us in Diagon Alley after we get our book lists though.' Lysander clapped him on the shoulder and then jumped onto the benches with Liam and Oliver and joined in the singing. The celebrations finally quieted when Coach Farba came in with a clipboard for the rundown of the match.

'If somehow you missed it the final score was 370-310 after 2 hours 12 minutes. We had a pretty strong match but we played down to our competition a bit. Lysander and Ralph great as always, you both put in a real shift at bat. Ralph you just need to make sure you're a little more aware of where your bludgers are when you're putting the body on but we can't complain about results. Ralph you had 44 contacts to 19 checks, Lysander you went 51 to 7 so strong beating throughout. Liam and Oliver great job on the wings, Liam 6 assists to 10 goals and Oliver 11 assists to 6 goals. James at center fantastic upfront 21 goals and 14 assists you got man of the match. And then Billy at the back great job, got a bit unsteady at the end after you took that bludger but you went 125/156 with a 0.801 rating. Good game, and a good end to the season, you'll be getting your letters through tomorrow and just remember that you might not get a reserved place but that doesn't mean you haven't made the team, last year we only named two players before term.' Farba turned on his heels and walked out again. Billy took off his robes and pulled off the captains C and left it on the table in the middle,

'Cheers for a great last game!' he announced suddenly, raising the bottle which he had picked up and taking a swig.

Ralph woke to a piercing head pain and sour taste of regret, it appeared he had made it back as he was laid on a sofa in the Burrow. He rolled over to look at the clock but in its place Mrs Weasley's family clock which had an absolutely ludicrous amount of hands adorning it, in his hungover haze Ralph thought he counted 21, yes that tallied up: the seven of Molly's children (Fred's hand was still on the clock), all their kids and Molly and Arthur, 21. All of the hands were pointed at home which meant it was likely all 20 of them were staying at the Burrow. When Dom had first told him about the Burrow he hadn't believed it, a huge house made of what seemed to be cottages stacked atop each other with over 30 bedrooms, 2 living rooms, a kitchen to rival the one at Hogwarts and a huge untidy garden that looked as though it'd been pulled from a fairy tale; the house was absolutely astonishing and no matter how big and full of people it always felt warm and homely. A house elf named Dobby was paid to keep the place in order with the help of another elf named Winky; Dobby had once told him that Winky was a recovering alcoholic, he'd laughed but Dobby had had a stern expression which made Ralph think he wasn't actually kidding him. He pushed himself off the squashy sofa and wandered around the fire place into the vast kitchen, holding his head he walked across to the bread basket and pulled out a loaf which he then severed two slices from. He collapsed at the table with his bread and left his coffee to brew in the pot, he couldn't remember all that much from the previous night, the journey home must've happened but it was noticeably abscent from his mind but there was nought to be done about that, the hangover however, was curable. He struck up a fire on the cooker with a match and sat a cauldron over the fire, presuming James and Rose would also need it he decided he'd make a large batch. He stewed ginger in water for 15 minutes before adding nettles and armadillo bile; this cooked for a further 20 minutes before he added a tiny amount of aconite, stirred counter-clockwise 5 times and took the potion off the heat. It was a warm golden colour and smelled of roasted ginger and tasted much like it as well, he ladled some out into a copper mug and drank deeply, his dry mouth suddenly vanished and his weariness and headache began to fade in place of a warm tingling sensation. The hangover cure was an invention of his own which he had constructed after his first ever night out in his 4th year, at first it didn't include any ginger but without it it tasted like cold sick and burnt like acid on the way down so he decided to season the base water with ginger and occasionally cinnamon if he could find some.

He was lounging on the sofa in the living room with his coffee when the first person emerged from upstairs, Mrs Weasley was wearing a thick dressing gown and large fluffy slippers.

'Morning dear, did you sleep well?' She walked over to Ralph and ruffled his hair, she was always kind and motherly like that to him,

'Very well thank you, were we in a state last night?' He was anxious to know if he'd made a complete tit of himself in front of his girlfriend, her parents and her whole family.

Mrs Weasley smiled gently 'All three of you were rather drunk yes, oh to be young.' She chuckled and bode herself out of the room humming gently to herself. He sank back into the sofa, so maybe he didn't make a fool of himself, that was good at least.

'What's in this cauldron dear?' asked Mrs Weasley

'It's a hangover cure, I've left it out for Rose and James.'

'Yes I should imagine that they'll need it after seeing them last night.'

Personally Ralph placed all of the blame on Lysander and his inordinate amount of hard liquor. Speaking of Lysander he was supposed to meet him in Diagon Alley today, which meant the book lists and O.W.L results would be arriving today. He wasn't stressed about his O.W.L results because he knew that he was exceptionally talented and would have passed everything and gotten a decent amount of Outstanding's as well. A vivid memory of his D.A.D.A practical exam surfaced when the invigilator asked 'Anything extra from your own knowledge' he remember how Professor Proctor has lectured them all about how many marks you could pick up in the extra knowledge section so when the invigilator asked him this he racked his brain for the most impressive piece of combative magic he could remember until finally settling on casting a Fiend Fire, he still remember the examiners squark of terror as the giant flaming owl charged down the hall, roaring with heat before receding back into his wand. The invigilator then told him that he 'clearly possessed a magical range superior to any wizard of his age or indeed, many of a greater age'.

They were all sat around the kitchen table tucking into Molly's delicious cooked breakfast when the owls arrived, a whole bloody flock, well 12. Breakfast ceased as everyone read out what books they needed, meanwhile Ralph, along with James and Dom, tore open his results envelope.

 _Ordinary Wizarding Level Results_

 _Pass Grades: Outsatnding (O)_

 _Exceeds Expectations (E)_

 _Acceptable (A)_

 _Fail Grades: Poor (P)_

 _Dreadful (D)_

 _Troll (T)_

 _RALPH HOMER MERLIN HAS ACHIEVED:_

 _Alchemy: O_

 _Ancient Runes: O_

 _Arithmancy: O_

 _Astronomy: E_

 _Care of Magical Creatures: O_

 _Charms: O_

 _Defence Against the Dark Arts: O_

 _Herbology: O_

 _History of Magic: E_

 _Magical Theory: O_

 _Potions: O_

 _Transfiguration: O_

'That's fantastic dear, your parents will be so proud' Mrs Weasley told him, grinning broadly and squeezing his shoulders. Also enclosed in the envelope was a letter informing him that any student wishing to enter the Triwizard tournament must have at least 5 O.W.L's including: Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts and Transfiguration. It also enformed him that any member of the school Quidditch team would not be permitted to participate as well as play. Also in the envelope were two badges, both were Quidditch captain badges; he knew he'd be getting the school one and seeing as he was school captain he presumed he would be house captain as well. The thing he was most looking forward to about being school captain was the bedroom he got, if a member of Slytherin house became head boy or girl, or school captain, they were properly rewarded; a small door in the left hand corner of the common room lead to a narrow corridor with 5 doors, two doors lead to the prefects dormitories (boys and girls), two lead to a toilet and the one at the end lead to a large circular room with three doors, one was labelled 'Head Boy', one was labelled 'Head Girl' and one was labelled 'Quidditch Captain'. All three of these rooms were vast with a large oaken desk and a huge emperor of the universe size four poster double bed and all three had large windows which you could see the picturesque emerald lake very clearly out of. James peered over his shoulder, at his badges and produced his own gold and red badge labelled captain.

'We can use the prefect's privileges now. I can't believe we weren't named prefects last year to be quite honest.' He said looking over the badges. At this Ginny made a noise as if to say that the idea of James and Ralph being prefects was a ridiculous one,

'Excuse me mother but me and Ralph are model pupils.' James exaggerated each word in mock offence,

'Oh yes, what was the last letter I got, you hexed someone because they tripped you up?' Ralph raised his hand but could not speak due to a mouthful of egg, he swallowed hard,

'Um actually that was just me and he tripped a first year kid up not James and I didn't hex him, that was all over exaggerated.'

'According to the letter he was hexed so that he could only hop.' At this James began howling with uncontrollable laughter,

'Okay maybe it was under exagerrated not over.' said Ralph, he too was grinning.

'Meaning?'

'Well I didn't so much hex him so he could only hop as i transfigured him into a rabbit.' Now everyone cracked up and the kitchen was alive with laughter and chatter.

'At least you picked a smart one Dom.' said Bill through howls of laughter. When breakfast concluded Ralph went upstairs and found his belongings had been taken up to one of the spare bedrooms. He pulled on a pair of jeans and nice cotton shirt, he also donned a coat in which he placed his wand.

They met Lorcan and Lysander at Ollivander's where their younger sister Pandora was purchasing her wand, when they walked in she was handing over the money for a handsome Ebony and Unicorn Hair wand. Hugo and Lily were also with them to choose theirs. Upon entering the shop a loud bang emitted from the back of the shop accompanied by a shower of sparks as one of the wands randomly went off.

'Mr Ollivander i think you might have a faulty wand back there.' Said Ralph helpfully,

Surprinsingly he smiled 'Oh no that will be a vine wand, often they discharge magic when someone they feel a particular affinity too enters the shop, we just have the task of working out which of you two lovely children the wand feels so strongly about.'

They left half an hour later, Hugo with a Vine and Phoenix Feather and Lily with one of Ash and Unicorn Hair. They met Ralph's mum, dad and sister at the ice cream parlour. They read over his O.W.L results and congratulated him before Hugo and Lily began showing Sophie their new wands.

'What's your wand?' Sophie asked tugging at Ralph's sleeve. He smiled gently and pulled out a handsome wand, grey black like charcoal in hue and with a clearly defined handle at the bottom formed of a single band of wood followed by a grip with carvings that as swollen out to be thicker than the rest of the wand.

'This is Elder and Phoenix Feather.' He said, showing his sister the wand. She gazed in awe at the wand for a while before asking him 'What will my wand be?' He smiled and put his wand away,

'We don't know because the wand chooses the wizard' He was strong armed into explaining more wandlore to his sister as they walked through the alley into Gringotts. They walked through the huge doors into the grand marble monolith and Sophie squeaked a little when a Goblin walked straight up to her and offered her a peppermint before taking them to a cart - of which they all barely squeezed on - and guiding them down into the vaults. When the door opened to Ralph's vault it presented the Weasley's, Scammander's and Merlin's with piles and piles of gold. Ralph's father owned an incredibly successful car manufacturing company and to put it bluntly they were unfathomably wealthy, Alan Merlin's estimated individual worth was close to £56,000,000,000. Ralph ventured into his vault, walked up to a pile of Galleons, which must have been close to 8ft high, and scooped an armful into his bag, he weighed up the few thousand galleons he'd just added to his bag and decided to add some change in the form of half a hundred sickles and about three dozen knuts. Next was the Potter's vault, while not quite in equal the Ralph the two famous wizards were both very wealthy and the Potter vault was bursting with gold, silver and bronze too. An hour later they were back in the light of day and the next trip was Madam Malkins. The poor witch spent a good two hours getting everything right for Lorcan which was proving a task due to his lofty height of 6'11" and huge chest which measured 70" around (once Madam Malkin had extended her tape measure a little) but in the end he had new school robes and dress robes for the year. They stopped at Eeylops on their way to Flourish and Blots so Dom and James could both buy some pellets. Ralph was accosted by a shop assistant as he waited, asking if he wished to purchase anything. He politely told him that he had no need for owl supplies for he did not have an owl which proved to be a mistake,

'Oh sir come right this way, you will find no finer selection of birds anywhere else!' cried the assistant, dragging him through to a room full of caged owls. He was then shown a number of breeds as the enthusiastic assistant gave him a run down of the various benefits to purchasing each one. Just when he thought he might be forced to buy an unwanted owl to save himself Dominique came through, her pellets purchased.

'Don't you think being able to turn into an owl might be enough darling.' she said grinning and coming over to his side. The assistant was briefly taken aback and Ralph seized the opportunity to bid himself away, very quickly.

'Thank you for rescuing me.' said Ralph kissing Dom on the cheek as they left the shop onto the street. As they walked up to the book shop they discussed the upcoming tournament at length. James and Ralph of course not being eligible to enter as they were both quidditch captains considered the most likely champions. James maintained that it would be Lysander however he said he had not yet decided whether he would even enter, stating that he did not know if he was willing to sacrifice a whole year of quidditch.

The next morning they all met at Kings Cross, Ralph's regular group consisted of: Dominique, James, Llana Finnigan, Florence Ulwood and Lysander. On Ralph's trolley was his trunk and on top of that two small boxes, both had undetectable extension charms on and both house an animal, the beautiful stained wood one was the traveling home of his British Blue Cat named Albert where as the shiny silver lock box held his niffler (though that was a secret as Hogwarts probably wouldn't take kindly to a domesticated niffler beneath their roof) called Percival. They began to manoeuvre the dense traffic of people in the station towards platforms 9 and 10. The 7 of them were less than conspicuous especially with 3 owls. They went through the steel barrier two at a time. Platform 9 and 3/4 was swamped in thick white smoke bu they found the area where the Weasley's and Potter's had grouped, all 7 Weasley children and their families took up quite a space. Everyone was saying hurried goodbyes as the large clock over the station crawled closer to eleven o'clock. When they finally boarded the engine it did not take long to find the compartment where everyone else was. Florence and Llana were filling Lysander in on their summer when they sat down.

'-and then I went straight off the edge and broke my ankle.' Florence was saying,

'Skiing went well then Flo.' said Ralph grinning as he sat down. Florence then began her story of malfortune over again as the train set off, barrelling north toward Scotland and toward a new school year, which promised to be a good one.

The Great Hall was decorated as it usually was for the start of term feast and the ceiling showed a calm starry night. Ralph, Dom, Lysander and Florence walked over to the slytherin table while James and Llana walked to the Gryffindor. The golden plates were still empty as the first years had yet to be sorted, or even enter the hall. Ralph turned his head towards the teachers table at the front, in the center sat the headmaster Professor Medici. Medici was the youngest headmaster Hogwarts had ever had (a young looking 46) and was a thin italian man, his long black hair always pulled back into a tight bun. The deputy head was the oldest man the Ralph had ever seen, called Professor Vector, short and so thin he seemed to be not there at all; but he was not sat where he usually did, he was undoubtedly waiting outside the doors to lead in the first years in for the sorting. No sooner had the thought crossed his mind that the doors swung open, and the first years were lead in. The sorting was to begin.

When it concluded, and so had the feast, Professor Medici stood up bringing absolute silence to the hall.

'As we are all aware this year Hogwarts plays host to the Triwizard tournament. The delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang arrive on the first of October, on that Thursday lessons will conclude after sixth period, not seventh. Any student wishing to enter must: be in the sixth or seventh year and possess 5 OWLs, and also not be competing in quidditch in any capacity this year. If any of the selected school team or any of the selected captains wish to compete please see Mr Farba. Now let us sing and then retire!'


	3. Ralph Homer Merlin

**A/N: I realised that as we are joining Ralph in his sixth year a certain amount of background information has to be given to you the readers, and as I cannot cram it into narrative I have decided to just give it to you as is. All feedback on the ideas or on the quality is appreciated.**

Name: Ralph Homer Merlin

Height: 6'4"

Weight: 16 stone 4lbs

Hair: Ash blonde

Eyes: Green/Yellow

Wand: Elder and Phoenix Feather 13 1/4 inches

Quidditch Position (s): Beater, Keeper

Skills: Dueling, Quidditch, Academics, Drinking, Talking/Convincing

Birthday: 13/12/03

Patronus: Great Grey Owl

Animagi: Great Grey Owl

House: Slytherin

Considered to be the most talented wizard of his generation. First descendant of Merlin to possess magic for 900 years due to a curse which eventually wore away. Direct descendant of Merlin (fathers side). Recruited by the Merlinian Second Order in his fourth year, they and he are strongly anti ministry and the current ministerial establishment has urged them to prepare for open action. Believes Minister for Magic and representatives should be elected.


End file.
